In a cloister world, as in the greater portion of our civilization, holidays such as Labor day, and 4th of July are gratefully relished. Although for us there is no solid basis to petition for an “afternoon off - holiday” for “National Boss Day” or the like, there are plenty of Saints and significant events on our daily liturgical calendar to flavor what looks like an ordinary day. Recently we celebrated Saint Martha, patroness of cooks, who is often a favorite among those who thrive on ‘doing.’ Martha and Mary are often presented as the icons of the active and contemplative dimensions of our Christian life. So many writers and preachers have stressed that this ‘balance’ or union between the ‘Martha & Mary’ in our own lives is a good one to have! But perhaps it is their encounter with Jesus as the Resurrection which binds these two sisters together in a spectacular and profound way. It was to Martha, distraught over her brother’s death that Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). And it was to Mary (if we consider Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene to be the same person), seeking Him in anguish at the empty tomb that He asked: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” (John 20: 15). They both sought Jesus - the source of life. We too can come to Him each day knowing that as we do our work and take time to listen to Him, an ordinary day is filled with the Presence of God and we become truly alive!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
To Be Alive
In a cloister world, as in the greater portion of our civilization, holidays such as Labor day, and 4th of July are gratefully relished. Although for us there is no solid basis to petition for an “afternoon off - holiday” for “National Boss Day” or the like, there are plenty of Saints and significant events on our daily liturgical calendar to flavor what looks like an ordinary day. Recently we celebrated Saint Martha, patroness of cooks, who is often a favorite among those who thrive on ‘doing.’ Martha and Mary are often presented as the icons of the active and contemplative dimensions of our Christian life. So many writers and preachers have stressed that this ‘balance’ or union between the ‘Martha & Mary’ in our own lives is a good one to have! But perhaps it is their encounter with Jesus as the Resurrection which binds these two sisters together in a spectacular and profound way. It was to Martha, distraught over her brother’s death that Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). And it was to Mary (if we consider Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene to be the same person), seeking Him in anguish at the empty tomb that He asked: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” (John 20: 15). They both sought Jesus - the source of life. We too can come to Him each day knowing that as we do our work and take time to listen to Him, an ordinary day is filled with the Presence of God and we become truly alive!
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3 comments:
I think it is wonderful that the Nuns have their own blog. Now we can keep up to date on what is happening.
Margaret Keller
Great post! Just another proof of how wonderful the word of God is. He always brings goodness out of us despite our sinful nature.
PS. I didn't know Martha was the patroness of cooks - that's so cool. :)
To Jill Limongi I didn't know that either. Well I guess when we cook we can pray to St. Martha for a good meal. I find that interesting.
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